Winter Thrushes and a Barn Owl at Fowlmere

14th January 2026

The most noticeable thing about this winter so far has been the near absence of winter thrushes, and up until now I have seen less than 20 Redwings and Fieldfares all winter. Then last week I heard that some had been seen at Fowlmere, so time for a visit to see what was going on.

As soon as I stepped from the car I could hear Fieldfares clack-clack-clacking in the canopy of the trees around the welcome hut which was obviously a good sign. As I walked along the anti-clockwise route there were Redwings and Fieldfares everywhere, but difficult to photograph as small flocks were flying in all directions, and that part of the perimeter path is fairly wooded. So what is going on?

Well, as we know the combination of a wet spring and hot summer has resulted in an absolutely bumper crop of Hawthorn berries here in the UK. It is also possible that a similar weather pattern in Scandinavia has also resulted in a bumper berry crop there, meaning there is no need for the Redwings and Fieldfares to migrate south. So why are they coming here now? 

Well, I can only assume that the Scandinavian berries have all been eaten which has prompted the thrushes to come south, just three months later than usual. I also got the impression that the birds at Fowlmere were new arrivals as they were very unsettled, flying in flocks of up to 300 birds, landed for a few minutes and then moving on again.

As I moved round to the watercress beds and eventually into the Reed Bed Hide I was able to get a few individual shots of Redwings...................

.........................and a Fieldfare.

The advantage of the Reed Bed Hide is that it gives you such a commanding view over the reserve and it was possible to see flocks, almost exclusively Fieldfares, having a rest in the surrounding trees.

And even a couple of flight shots.

Having seen less than 20 winter thrushes so far this winter, I conservatively estimate that today there were 1500+, predominantly Fieldfares. Also, since these were taken I have heard Fieldfares over my house and others have reported seeing more winter thrushes, so it looks as though this is not an isolated incident and we can look forward to seeing a lot more over the next few weeks.

So what about the star of the show, the Barn Owl? Well, right on cue it stepped out of its box and onto its decking half an hour before sunset.

It sat there for about five minutes while it woke up, surveyed the scene, and then took off in search of a meal.

What a stunning bird!!!!!